Second Chance
by sirena1
Summary: After her death the PTB offer Cordelia a second chance to live her life in another dimension. Mild CA in the first chap. CD after that.
1. Second Beginnings

Okay guys, I haven't seen the fourth or fifth seasons of Angel, but I do know that Cordelia just recently died after being in a coma. And since I'm just now getting caught up on what's been happening since I'm watching the reruns of Angel on TNT, this idea hit me when I found out about Cordy. And don't worry. Across Time is too close to being completed for me to give up on now. I am going to finish it. And soon. Within a week or two. But this idea hit me and I couldn't get it out of my head.

Title: Second Chance

Rating: Pg-13 to mild R

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the characters of either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. If I did, things would be going majorly different.

Summary: After her death, Cordelia is offered a second chance at a different life in another dimension.

Dedication: To the casts of Angel and BtVs, past and present. Your shows were inspirational. They made me laugh, they made me cry. They will be sorely missed. And to Glenn Quinn and David Boreanaz. You two are, and in Glenn Quinn's case, were, the reasons that kept me watching. Your acting is, or was, phenomenal. I'll never forget you.

She'd been in a coma for so long that they'd started to lose hope. And then, as if a miracle had taken place, there she was, looking at Angel, talking to him. And then she was gone and the phone was ringing, a doctor was telling him that Cordelia was dead. That she wasn't ever coming back. And he knew then that her spirit had come to tell him goodbye.

Burying her was the hardest thing they'd ever done. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. Even Angel cried. He was inconsolable. Until late one stormy night. When, as he and the remainder of the Fang Gang worked on a case, as if she had to tell the rest of them goodbye as she had Angel, Cordelia returned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cordelia Chase."

Cordelia looked around the white chamber that she stood in. "Who's there? Who are you? Where am I? I'm supposed to be dead."

A glowing figure dressed in white swept into the room. "I am an Oracle. You are in the chamber of the Powers that Be. And yes, you are dead. Physically. But yet, your soul, your spirit, your essence lives on."

"Why? I said goodbye. I let go. Why won't they just let me rest?"

"They will, if that is what you choose to do. But another path lies before you, Seer. You have another, last choice to make. To return to Heaven and live eternally there, or to travel to another dimension. Live your life a second time."

"What do you mean, live my life a second time?"

"In another dimension, you are in a coma as well. The damage done to your brain by the Beacon is irreparable. There is nothing we can do to repair it. And yet, it is not the time for you to die there. It was the time for you to die in your dimension. In order to restore the balance that her early death would throw off, we offer you the chance to be replaced into your nineteen year old body and live again."

"Would I die at twenty four again too?"

"Possibly. That we cannot say. Choices will be made; things will be done differently. You may die sooner, you may live many more years."

"Hold on, did you say that the Beacon put me in a coma? But Doyle died from the Beacon. I wasn't even hurt."

"Ahh, yes. In your dimension the Messenger did die. In the dimension you have the choice to travel to, the Messenger did not die. She stopped him from making the sacrifice. He still lives, as does the vampire."

"So, wouldn't the balance be right if I died?"

"No. The Messenger wasn't supposed to die in your dimension. All three were supposed to live. That is why Connor was sent to you, to restore the balance. We fear that without you to anchor the vampire, he might not return to the side of good were we to allow the same thing to happen once again."

Cordelia took a deep breath. A second chance to discover what would have happened. A chance to find out if the feelings she had once had for Doyle were really real, or if they had just arisen after his death. A chance to pursue possibilities. A chance at a full life, where she grew old, had children, a home, a family. There wasn't really a choice to it. It was an opportunity to experience what had once been taken away from her.

"I'll do it. On one condition."

"This is not a negotiation."

"I just want to tell them all goodbye. To explain what I'm doing. Why I'm doing it."

The Oracle paused only seconds. "All right. You have one hour to be with them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cordelia?" Angel whispered hoarsely. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Corporeal and all." Cordelia said, reaching for him. She took him in her arms, held him close for a long minute. "But I've only got about an hour, so I have to make this fast."

"Why are you here? You already said goodbye."

"Yeah, I did. But just to you. And this is a different kind of goodbye."

"What do you mean, a different kind of goodbye?"

"I'm leaving. And not in the duh sense. I'm dead, but I'm not going to stay that way. Does that make any sense?"

"You're going to be a Higher Power again?"

"No. I'm going to another dimension. They're giving me a second chance. Cordelia's life, take two. You know. It was my time to die here, guys. Remember that. I've done all the good I can do. Lived through as much as I can take. There's nothing left for me to do here. But where I get to go, I'm dying prematurely. Remember the Beacon, Angel? And Doyle?"

Angel nodded. "I haven't thought about him in forever."

"Remember how he was in love with me?"

Connor coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but who's Doyle?"

Cordelia smiled at Connor. "The man who preceded Wesley. He passed the damn visions onto me when he died. I don't think he even meant to. He just wanted to kiss me once before he died. Anyway, in the dimension where I'm dying, I stopped Doyle from shutting off the Beacon, did it myself. And now I'm in a coma with irreparable brain damage. It isn't my time to die there, just like it wasn't his time to die here."

Angel was looking thoughtful. "So why didn't they send another him here?"

"Because they gave you Connor to balance the scales. But they're afraid that the other you, without a me, might go evil and stay evil. Therefore they aren't going to send the other you a Connor. They're sending the other you another me."

Fred seemed to be the only one that made perfect sense to. She walked over, hugged Cordelia tightly. "What are you going to do when you get there?"

Cordelia turned to Angel. "I love you. I hope you know that." She told him tenderly. "And I know that you love me. But we both know that I couldn't ever have your whole heart, and you couldn't ever have my whole heart. And maybe a large majority would have been enough, but we both know that we both have people that could, at least, maybe get our whole hearts."

Angel laid his hand against the side of Cordelia's face. "Doyle?"

Cordelia nodded. "All we had were possibilities, and then the stupid Irishman had to go and let the giant Christmas tree ornament of death kill him before I ever got to find out if there was anything but possibilities. And you'll always love Buffy, no matter what. She's your soul mate. The one you were made to be with. I realize that now."

Angel leaned down; kissed Cordelia so tenderly that it nearly made her cry. "If it helps, I really did think that I could love you the same way I love her."

"I know. I hoped that too. But let's face it, Angel, we aren't meant to be, at least not in this dimension. We're best friends and I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before, but I have to find out if what I may have been able to have with Doyle is the kind of love that you have with a certain blonde Slayer. Promise me you won't let her go. Promise me you'll tell her about the Shanshu. I want you to be happy."

"I don't know if any of us can be happy without you."

"You'll manage. And at least, this way, you know I'm not dead. I'm just living out a possibility with an Irish half demon that claimed to be in love with me. Yeah, I'll be in another dimension, but there'll be a you, and a Fred and a Wesley and a Gunn and a Lorne. I will miss you though, Connor." Cordelia said, hugging him. "We had it rough, but we got through."

"It was trying at times. But you're right, we did make it through. I'll miss you Cordy."

Cordelia's eyes were filling with tears. "I love all you guys. Just remember that, wherever I am, I'm happy, and alive. And I want you all to be happy too. We all deserve a bit of happiness."

Gunn was the next to hug Cordelia. "You've always been a bit like my sister, Cordy. I'm not liable to get over you leaving us. I'll miss you, girl."

"I'll miss you too. But I'll be watching you. At least, one of me will be. Try not to miss me too much."

Giving them the chance to say goodbye, to know where Cordelia was ending up, it made the pain a little more bearable. Made letting her go a little easier. Knowing that she had a second chance at an opportunity she'd only been able to get a glance of almost made it worth it. She was going to be happy. Going to live a life worth living where she wasn't at the end of her ropes, or on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

And then, it was time for her to go. Cordelia felt a faint tugging. Reached to give everyone a last hug, and tell them all goodbye. Then, with little ceremony, she was gone. Just disappeared. It was better that way. Easier than seeing her fade little by little. She was just gone, and they all knew that they wouldn't ever see her again. At least, not in that dimension.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you ready, Seer?"

"I'm ready. Tell me how this is going to work."

"You will wake up in the body of your nineteen year old self. Some things will be different, but you will have all the memories that the second version of yourself made, just like you will know all you need to know about what happened in your first life. You won't remember everything, but you will remember some, why you're there, what happened differently up to that point in the other dimension. Any memory that isn't meant to be repeated, or involving people that do not or no longer exist from the point of your reentrance will be erased. You will not remember the son, nor anything having to do with him, you will not remember the demon child you gave birth to, nor what happened with the Groosalug in Pylea. Any questions?"

"Can I tell them?"

"Why would you want to? Just pick up your life, youngling. Do what you never got a chance to do. Live life as life was meant to be lived."

"All right. Send me back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doyle looked up at Angel. "What should we do, boss? The doctors say she ain't ever gonna wake up."

"Are you asking me if we should take her off life support?"

Doyle shook his head. "She's still breathing on her own. She's just in a vegetative state. I'm asking what we should do. Take her home? Turn her over to the state?"

Then, another voice joined the conversation. "How about come over here and give her a hug?" Cordelia rasped, opening her eyes. What a trip. She felt like she'd just run a marathon, then got run over by a bus. And then, she was being hugged from both sides by a broody vampire, and a borderline alcoholic half demon. "Hey, can't breathe. What happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

Doyle answered. "You stopped the Beacon, Princess. Then you got caught in the explosion. It put you in a coma. They told us you'd never wake up, that the brain damage was too great."

"Well then, either they lied or the Powers just really like me." Cordelia said, and then, moving quicker than anyone thought she could in her condition, reached out and grabbed Doyle by the lapels of his shirt, dragged him in close, kissed him fiercely. And a blue light passed between them as she returned his visions. But even after the vision return was complete, she didn't end the kiss, and neither did he. They only pulled away when Angel coughed uncomfortably.

"What was that for?" Doyle asked, and Cordelia smiled.

"Just taking an opportunity I was afraid I'd never get to have." She said cryptically.


	2. Starting Over

The doctors said she'd made the most amazing recovery that they'd ever seen. Angel thought Cordelia was more right. Someone a little higher up on the food chain just really liked her. Doyle had been walking around in a trance since she'd kissed him, not quite sure what to think. At first glance, the kiss had been to return the visions. But then again, she'd been unconscious for three weeks. How did she know that she'd even received the visions? Let alone how she'd gotten them and how to return them?

That led to the conclusion that she had meant to kiss him. Which was the conclusion that put Doyle in his trance. He'd been head over heels from the second he'd laid eyes on her. Declared her a 'real stiffener', and asked Angel to put in a good word, which he hadn't done. Turned out he hadn't needed to put in a good word if the show in the hospital room was any indication of how she felt for him.

Her doctor had said that Cordelia would have to remain in the hospital for another week or so. She'd blatantly refused. Was in the process of proving herself fit enough to check out right at that very moment. Seemed to be doing a rather good job as well. Angel hovered anxiously, making sure that she didn't do anything too strenuous, or hurt herself. Despite the fact that she was healing nicely, and didn't seem to be experiencing any neurological effects from the coma, he was still a little wary to let her do anything on her own.

"You'll stay with me until you're better." Angel told Cordelia as he pushed her out of the hospital into the dark night. 

"Like hell I will." Cordelia retorted. "I'll stay at my apartment. Dennis'll take care of me."

"Dennis is a ghost. Good as he may be for some things, he can't call 911 if you fall and hurt yourself, or if something happens."

"I am not staying in that broody place that you call an apartment. End of story. There isn't any light, not one single mirror, and besides, I'm fine."

"You aren't staying by yourself."

"Last time I checked, I was an adult and I didn't need your permission to do anything. I'm staying at my apartment."

"Fine. But one of us is staying with you."

"Right. Like you're going to abandon your brooding to stay with me and help me paint my toenails or something. You like the dark too much, Angel. You wouldn't last ten minutes in my apartments. Too many windows not enough curtains."

"All right, if you won't let me stay, then Doyle will stay."

Doyle's head snapped up at the sound of his name. "I will?"

"Yes, you will. I'll drop you at your apartment and you can pack a bag."

"But what if Dennis doesn't like him?"

"I'll exorcise Dennis." Angel said firmly, letting her know it wasn't open for debate. She'd pushed him as far as she was going to get him to go. 

"Fine, but he sleeps on the couch."

"Last time I checked you a had spare bedroom, Princess." Doyle said, opening the car door for her. She shot him a glare.

"Whatever. Let's just go. I'm exhausted, and I want my own bed."

Angel shook his head. He'd probably be lucky if they didn't kill one another before the next morning. He knew she'd talk him in to letting her go to work, and they'd fight the entire way there and they'd fight that night about who did what and which show they watched on television. They always fought over everything with neither willing to compromise. Doyle normally lost. Mainly because he always gave up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel dropped Cordelia and Doyle off at eight that night. He didn't bother to go in. The sooner he let them fight, the sooner there would be peace, because hopefully, they'd discovered a new way to end the battle. Angel was hoping the kiss wasn't a one-time thing and that Doyle would figure out that the best way to shut Cordelia up was to kiss her.

Doyle opened the door for her, and, despite her objections, took her arm and helped her to the elevator. She was still weak, and he wasn't too confident in her balance. She didn't quite shoot daggers at him, but it was close. After the whole thing with both of them nearly dying, she seemed to be willing to tolerate him more.

"Are ya doin' all right, darlin'?" Doyle asked, taking the keys to her apartment when she offered them to him.

"I'm tired." Cordelia admitted. "And I want the longest bubble bath in recorded history, but other than that, I'm fine."

Doyle placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her down the hall. "Well, there's nothin' you have to do tonight but relax and rest. So, let's see what we can do about that bath, shall we?"

"I knew there was a reason that I tolerate you." Cordelia said, suddenly plastering on a fake smile, and cinching her arm around his waist. "Not a word. Notorious man stealer straight ahead."

The woman coming down the hall was tall and curvy, more striking than even Cordelia, but not nearly as beautiful. She smiled brightly when she saw Cordelia, but Doyle could see her do a mental inventory of how tired and sick Cordelia looked.

"Well, Cordelia Chase. Where have you been and why have you been there?"

"I've been in the hospital." Cordelia said noncommittally, edging past the woman. "I'll see you later Darlene."

"Who's your friend?"

"Darlene, Allan Doyle. Doyle, Darlene Carpenter."

"It's a pleasure." Doyle said, following Cordelia. He'd noticed her grip on him tightening and wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't feeling well or because she just didn't like her neighbor.

Once they were in her apartment, Cordelia headed straight for the couch, and Doyle could feel Dennis trailing along worriedly. "I'm all right Dennis." She said tiredly, sinking onto the sofa. "Turn on the light, would ya?"

Doyle wasn't sure if she was talking to him or the ghost. The question was answered when the lights came on and the stereo switched on to her favorite station. She smiled a little, and there was a breeze in the apartment for a minute.

"Doyle, could you go into the kitchen and get us a couple sodas?"

"Sure thing, darlin'. Are you hungry?"

"I'm not cooking." She said, "And you don't cook."

"I'll call for pizza."

"Pepperoni and pineapple."

Doyle handed her a coke. "My favorite."

"Really? Or are you lying to me?"

"Really. But it'll probably be an hour or so before it gets here. Do you want to go get in the tub while we wait on it?"

Cordelia sighed. "That requires movement."

The next thing Cordelia knew, she was swept into Doyle's arms and he was carrying her toward her bathroom. "There. You get your bath, and you don't have to move." He said, setting her down on her feet. 'Do you want me to get you pajamas?"

"Third drawer, dresser by the window. The flannel gray ones." Cordelia murmured, turning on the water. She could easily get used to the getting taken care of thing. By the time he returned, she was neck deep in bubbles. "You can come in." Cordelia called, when she saw him pass by the door. Doyle slowly walked in and laid her clothes on the counter.

"I'm gonna go order the pizza. Do you need anything?"

"Come keep me company when you do that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doyle returned in five minutes. "They're booked up. It'll be about an hour and forty five minutes or so."

"That's LA on a Friday night for ya." Cordelia said from the bathtub. She was rather enjoying massive amounts of hot water and lots of fragrant bubbles. "That's all right. I don't think we'll starve. Sit down. There's a chair there for a reason." She said, gesturing to the vanity chair. Reluctantly, he sat. "Thanks for doing this Doyle. You didn't have to, and I appreciate it. I love Angel to death, but he gets a little intense really quick. I don't think I could've taken the hovering."

Doyle shrugged. "No problem, Princess. We almost lost you. I'm not in any hurry to let you outta my sight, truth be told."

Cordelia bent one knee, braced her foot on the side of the tub, exposing one leg to his view. "I'm just glad I was able to stop you from being all self- sacrificing. We kinda need you around here, buddy." 

"I'm good for visions, and disappointing people, darlin'. You pulled Angel back from the edge of a very dark place. You saved his life. Saved my life. We need you more than anyone will ever need me."

"I don't think that's all your good for. Nearly dyin' makes a girl grow up a little bit. After that, I realize what exactly you do around here. How much you've helped. You make me laugh. I don't think I've laughed since Xander."

"Xander?"

"Sunnydale boyfriend. He was a Scooby, and we had a make out in the closet and deny it ever happened relationship for a while before we came out of the closet so to speak. Then Spike kidnapped him and Willow, Buffy's best friend. Oz, a werewolf, you remember Oz, and I went looking for them, and he could smell them. I fell through a ceiling or the floor or something and impaled myself on an iron bar. Just in time to see Willow and Xander making out on some slab of rock."

Doyle was floored. "Someone cheated on **you**?"

"Yeah. Go figure. And after all I did for him. I gave up everything. All my old friends, popularity, all of it. I started slaying vampires for God sakes. And when he was going to turn into a fish demon, I was still willing to stay with him. Even let him see other fish. I was even going to take him little bath toys. And where did it get me? Nearly dead and heartbroken."

The rant left Cordelia exhausted. She sank back into the bath, and turned her face away from him so she could compose herself. When she finally had herself back under control, she turned back to him, fake smile firmly in place. Doyle didn't buy it for one second, and she knew it.

"Sorry about that. It's the past and I'm totally over it."

Doyle looked at her carefully for a minute, scrutinizing her face. "Whatever you say."

Cordelia sighed. "I think I'll get out now." She said softly, reaching for a towel. Before Doyle could rise and turn his back, she'd stood up and wrapped herself in the towel. She pulled the plug and stepped out of the tub. "I meant to do it, y'know." She told him, pulling him to his feet.

"What?"

"Kiss you. At the hospital. I meant to do it. And not just to give back the visions. I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I never realized how much you mean to me."

Gently, so as to not hurt her, Doyle buried his hands in her long hair. "Tell me not to." He said hoarsely, and she swallowed hard.

"Tell you not to do what?"

"Kiss you."

"I can't. I want you to."

So he did. He crushed her small body to his larger one, laved her mouth with his tongue. Felt her melt in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, held him just as tightly, tangling her tongue with his. He angled her head back, giving him better access to her mouth, she ran her hands through his curly hair, fingers splayed on the back of his skull.

Doyle bent, lifted her in his arms once again. She burrowed into his embrace as he carried her toward the couch. What he really wanted to do was carry her off to bed and make love to her all night long, but she was in no physical condition for that, nor was he even sure she'd be open to the idea. So he'd settle to kissing her senseless. Which he did. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cordelia woke up the next morning in bed with Doyle. She sighed in contentment, her flannel pajamas insuring that she was warm and comfortable. She definitely liked this dimension better. There were definite possibilities to explore. A new relationship with a wonderful man. A chance to be truly happy, free from visions of terror and death, free from the mistakes that she'd made before. She wanted nothing more than to forget her old life and concentrate on her future. Her second chance. And in the early morning hours of the first good morning Cordelia Chase had ever had, wrapped securely in the arms of a man who loved her and whom she could very well love, she felt that there was nothing standing in the way of her storybook ending.


	3. Let the Games Begin

"Did we ever get our pizza?" Cordelia asked the next morning as she and Doyle made the bed before leaving for the office. She'd managed to convince him that, even though she was a little tired, she was perfectly capable of filing things, and that, were there a case, Angel would need their help.

"I don't think so. Unless they came and we didn't hear them. Which is a distinct possibility." Doyle said, shrugging, and ducking as Dennis threw a shoe at him. "Darlin', I don't think your ghost likes me too much."

"Dennis doesn't like anyone. It took me weeks to get along with him. Why do you think I get this place so cheap?"

"Is he gonna get used to me anytime soon? I don't know how many more flying shoes I can miss."

"I don't know. Angel normally comes in and out as fast as he can to keep from getting hit with things, and you're the first male person to ever spend the night here. We'll have to wait and see. He'd probably be better if I'd made you sleep in the spare bedroom. Are you hungry? I think I'm gonna make breakfast."

Doyle followed her to the kitchen. "You cook?"

"A bit. I took cooking class in high school to get out of two years of gym. Showering with twenty other girls just wasn't my scene. I know enough to handle eggs and toast." She assured him, pulling out the skillet from under the stove. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out eggs. "Make that bacon and eggs. I don't have any bread. It went stale while I was in the hospital."

Doyle sat down at the table and prayed that she knew more what to do with food that needed cooking than she had the first time he'd handed her a file folder and asked her to take care of paperwork.

/

/

They arrived at the office at nine. Angel was walking around in the office, going through paperwork and staring at the computer like it was some sort of creature in dire need of being slain. When he looked up and saw Doyle and Cordelia he looked somewhere between surprised, glad to see them, and irritated that Cordelia was even out of bed.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Cordelia answered, "I'm feeling better. Well enough to handle computer things and paperwork. And Dennis doesn't like Doyle. I was afraid he'd destroy all my shoes."

"Well you aren't well enough to stay by yourself yet. Would he be any better with me?"

"Let me put it this way. Unless you're planning on moving in, Dennis will never like either of you. He doesn't like people very well at all. It took me over a month to convince him to get along with me."

"Then you'll have to stay here until you're better." Angel said, finality evident in his voice. Cordelia was shaking her head before he could even finish his sentence.

"No, Angel. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I can get along all right, I'm a little weak, yeah, but what could happen to me in my own apartment? Vampires can't enter without an invitation, and I live on the tenth floor. I don't think any demon can jump that high and none that I know of are brave enough to take the elevator."

Doyle was, for once, on Cordelia's side. "I know you don't want her alone, man. I don't either. But we have to get things back to normal. And that means that we have to let her do her own thing. She doesn't need our help right now. But if Dennis wasn't trying to kill me, I'd still be staying with her."

Angel was looking defeated. "I just want you safe, Cordelia."

"And I will be. Now we've got more important things to deal with than where I'm sleeping."

"Like what?"

Cordelia pointed to the door. "Wesley."

Angel and Doyle turned as well, Angel with a look of greeting on his face, Doyle looking like he'd like to kill the Englishman. "Wesley." Angel said, walking over. "We hadn't expected to see you again so soon."

"Well, I hadn't expected to be here again so soon. But, unfortunately, circumstances have arisen that need to be dealt with."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "In English please."

"Faith has waken up from her coma."

Cordelia and Angel both paled considerably. "What the hell do you mean, she woke up?" Cordelia demanded, shaking from something, whether it was anger or fear, no one was sure. "I thought she wasn't ever supposed to wake up? I mean, Buffy said she wouldn't ever wake up!"

Doyle grabbed Cordelia's arms and pushed her down into a chair. "Calm down, darlin'. Who's Faith?"

"Second Slayer." Angel said, then explained for Doyle's sake. "Buffy died, technically, when she was sixteen, but Xander was able to bring her back. Since she died, a new Slayer was called. Kendra. She came to Sunnydale with some assassins who were trying to kill me. She and Buffy met, and Giles, her Watcher, figured out what had happened. Well, Kendra was killed by Drusilla, meaning that a new Slayer had to be called. That's Faith. She showed up in Sunnydale when Buffy was seventeen and slayed until the mayor, who was a demon, hired her. She shot me with some sort of an arrow laced with a poison that only the blood of a Slayer could cure, and Buffy went after Faith. Stabbed her in the gut with her own knife. Ended up putting her in a coma."

Doyle looked at Cordelia. "So you and she don't get along?"

"Never have." Wesley answered, turning toward Angel, "Apparently Faith has been causing some problems in Sunnydale. She seems to have been able to switch bodies with Buffy and has done some things in Buffy's body that are rather inappropriate. They're back now, but I imagine Faith, and most likely Buffy will be here shortly."

Cordelia shook her head. "No way is Buffy coming here. Not after what she did the last time. Not after all she did in Sunnydale."

Angel looked at Cordelia with an expression of understanding on his face. "I know how you and Buffy feel about one another, but I don't think we get much say in the matter. The only thing we can do is make sure that Faith doesn't do too much damage. We'll either have to handle it ourselves, or somehow let the police know how to subdue her."

"How are the police going to be able to subdue her when you couldn't even do that?" Cordelia snapped, abruptly standing and stalking to the other room. Doyle started after her, but Angel grabbed his arm.

"Let her be. She needs a few minutes to digest this. She and Faith and Buffy have a complicated history."

"Like what? Anything we should be worried about?"

"Plenty. Cordelia had a tendency to be a bit brash in high school." Wesley said, and Doyle rolled his eyes. "She and Faith matched wits plenty of times, and Faith slept with Xander, Cordelia's old boyfriend before she was really over him. And I'm guessing you know the story behind Buffy and Cordelia."

"Yeah, I know. I saw all of that when Buffy came up after Thanksgiving."

"Right. But we've got bigger fish to fry. They can bitch at one another later. Faith is a much larger, more pressing problem." Angel said, walking to the weapon's cabinet. "Wesley, is she in LA yet?"

"No, judging from what I have heard, Angel. But she is on her way. And as there is a warrant out for her arrest and her face has been plastered on every news station for a few days, it could take her a while to get here. Transportation will, obviously, be quite a problem."

Angel tossed Doyle a crossbow. "You go down to some of the local demon hangouts, see what's up. If anyone knows, it'll be them. And try a few of your contacts. They've dished out some interesting facts before. Wes, you go hit the computer, see if there've been any sightings on Faith. We need to have a more exact location on her. And I am going to go and call Willow, see how long ago Faith left Sunnydale."

/

/

Faith entered Angel Investigations stealthily. Angel would smell her, but she could deal with him. No problem. Cordelia was directly in front of her, her back to the Slayer, pacing back and forth, looking a bit worse for wear. Faith had originally wanted Wesley, but the girl would work. Angel cared for her more anyway, and she probably knew just as much. She would be a lot more fun to torture anyway.

But Cordelia had grown a little since the last time Faith had seen her. She seemed to sense the presence of the Slayer, turned around slowly. Their eyes locked. And Cordelia opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she possibly could. Faith sprang into action, smashed her fist into the other girl's face and tossed her over one shoulder just as the three, three? men came through the door.

"Hello, boys." Faith said cheerily, and ran through the front door with Cordelia. The man she didn't know gave chase, following for a good while before she finally lost him. Damn, the boy couldn't be human. Not and move like that, he couldn't. Maybe, after she was done killing his girlfriend, she'd have to see how much stamina he had.

/

/

Angel was pacing like a caged animal when Doyle returned. "I lost them a few blocks down the street." He said angrily, heading straight for the weapon's closet. He exchanged the crossbow for the tranquilizer gun. "And now I am going to go find them. Angel, take the tunnels, Wesley, go with him."

Angel blocked Doyle's exit with one arm. "Not yet. We don't know where she's going, what she's planning, if she's set any traps. We can't just go running into danger."

"Yes I damn well can. She kidnapped my girl, Angel! Surely you have to understand that!" Doyle protested, looking very nearly crazy. "I just got her back, I can't lose her again. Not when we came so close before. I'm going. And I am going to find her. And if Faith won't give her up easily, I'll kill her."

Angel looked at his friend and saw that he was dead serious. "Okay. We'll go now. Wesley, go with him."

"No. I'll move faster by myself."

Wesley looked at Doyle. "Like you're going to be able to track them any better than I can. I have experience with the Watcher's Council in such things and I assure you that I will not, in any way, be a hindrance to your search for Cordelia and Faith."

Doyle switched to his demon visage, the first time he'd done it willingly since Angel had known him. "Yes, you will. I can track a lot faster using my nose than your outdated methods of searching for someone." He snapped, then brushed past Angel and left the building. Wesley looked at Angel.

"He's going to get himself killed isn't he?"

"Possibly." Angel admitted with hesitation. "But we can't stop him. He loves her. And I would've done the same thing for Buffy. But that cements it. I am never letting that girl out of my sight again. She gets into way too much trouble when I leave her alone."

Wesley followed Angel into the sewers. "I think you might have to get in line for that position, my friend. I think our half demon partner may keep Cordelia handcuffed to himself for the next few decades."

"Probably. But at least someone will have her in their sight at all times."

/

/

Sorry for the delay. I have been so busy I don't even know where to start. A band competition, college entrance exams, finals, our senior band banquet. All of it has happened in the last couple of weeks. School gets out soon though, so updates should come more regularly.


	4. Confession

Cordelia woke up in a warehouse of sorts. Her head was pounding, there was blood crusted to the side of her face, and she couldn't see because her hair was swinging in front of her eyes. She could just begin to make out shapes, and saw a human one moving around in front of her. Faith. Great. One thing that hadn't changed. Except, what was happening to her was supposed to be happening to Wesley. And Wes hadn't said anything about being suspended from a ceiling by chains. That was a very Spike like thing to do.

"Oh good. You're awake. Now it's time for the fun to begin."

Cordelia swung her head, painful as it was to get her hair out of her way. She made a mental note to get the haircut over with sooner than she was supposed to. "What do you want Faith?"

"I think you know exactly what I want. You, and Angel, and Wesley, and I guess even that pathetic little half demon, dead. Guess I just didn't get over the your friends putting me in a coma thing. And it was fun and all, screwing Buffy's boyfriend, and making Spike think she was interested, but that's all over now. And it got boring anyway." Faith picked up a knife. "So far torture's never gotten boring. Let's seen how long making you scream can interest me."

Cordelia knew exactly what Faith had done to Wesley. Knew it would probably be worse for her. She and Faith hadn't gotten along nearly as well as Faith and Wes. "Well, I think you'll find it's gonna be a little harder than normal to make me scream. After all, I've done quite a bit of growing up since we last saw one another."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You'll still scream. And it'll be fun." Faith slowly drew the blade down Cordelia's cheek, barely breaking skin with the knife. A small line of blood appeared, but Cordelia didn't move. "And physical abuse isn't all, honey. I know things you could only dream of. I met up with a few contacts while I was in LA. I'm gonna tell you things you wished you didn't know."

"Like what?" Cordelia spat viciously. "I think you'll find I know a little bit more than you think I do."

"Okay then, we'll start with that. Your little half demon, boy toy. Let's start there. He's only a half Bracken. A lowly Tracker demon. He can't even do anything spectacular! And did you know that he's married?"

Cordelia nearly threw up, but kept her face straight. Things were going out of order. Harry hadn't come yet. And Cordelia, though she knew it was irrational, felt the same stab of betrayal in her chest that she had felt the first time around. And if Harry hadn't come, had the Day that Wasn't come too? Cordelia couldn't remember, but then, she wouldn't anyway. Angel hadn't gone to Sunnydale at Thanksgiving. He'd wanted to, but Doyle and Cordelia had managed to talk him out of it. And Buffy hadn't come. Which meant they still had that little drama to go through before things got on the right track.

"Okay, that doesn't upset you, how about this? I screwed Xander's brains out your Senior year, and you never even knew about it. How's that for a surprise?"

"I already knew that, actually." Cordelia said nonchalantly, testing the length of her chains. They were holding her about twenty inches off the ground, and if Faith turned around, she might be able to get enough momentum to swing herself into the Slayer. And if she could knock her out, she had a chance at figuring a way out of the whole mess.

Faith's fist across Cordelia's face shook her out of her trance. One punch was followed by another, until Cordelia was bleeding and trying not to cry. She could feel her face bruising, could feel blood trickling from her nose, lip and forehead. Faith picked the knife back up and slowly shredded Cordelia's shirt. "I am going to make this hurt. And I am going to like it." She said menacingly, drawing the blade down Cordelia's ribs. The pain was sharp, cutting. The gash was deep, would probably need stitches. More blood. Faith turned to her table full of torture devices.

That was her chance. Cordelia threw all her weight against the chain, swinging herself slightly. Faith was studying her selection. Cordelia swung harder. And harder, until she was high enough she could hit Faith rather hard. When the woman turned around, Cordelia's feet charged into her face, and she flew backwards, hitting a pile of boxes that made a pile of wood fall over onto her. She didn't get up.

Thank God. Now she had to figure a way out of her predicament. She was chained to the roof, a good twenty feet above her head. Her hands were in shackles, tightened painfully around her wrists. But that was okay. Cordelia was strong. She could lift herself using just her hands. If she could lift herself using the chains, she could pull herself out of Faith's grasp. There was a second story about ten feet up, with offices. There was spare chain bundled at the top. If she could pull it down, she might have a chance at getting to a phone.

Satisfied that it was her only chance, Cordelia began the task of climbing. She didn't have a lot of time. Faith could wake up at any moment. Slayers weren't notorious for staying unconscious long. And Cordelia knew she hadn't been able to put enough power into her kick to keep her out more than fifteen minutes or so. The time she had would have to be enough or she was as good as dead.

It took a good ten minutes to get to the second story and swing herself onto that platform. She yanked on the chain and pulled in down from the ceiling. She had about thirty feet of slack to move around. There was an office directly in front of her with a phone on the desk. She charged the window, burst through it in a shower of glass and splintered wood. She landed on the desk, the chain pulled taut.

The phone worked, to her immense surprise and delight. Her fingers shook, raw and bloody as she dialed Angel's cell phone number. He answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Angel." Cordelia gasped.

"Cordelia? Where are you? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine for now. I knocked Faith out. But she won't be out long. I'm in some factory. It's in Santa Monica, I can hear the ocean. It's right beside the sea. Lots of really big windows. Plenty of sunlight. You have to tell Doyle and Wesley where I am. And get them here soon. If she wakes up and gets to me, I'm royally screwed."

"I'm on it." Angel said, and hung up. He dialed Doyle's cell phone. The half demon answered on the third ring after a brief search for the phone.

"Doyle here."

"Doyle, it's Angel. She's in an old factory by the ocean in Santa Monica, and you have to hurry. Faith's unconscious and she's managed to call me, but I can't get there without bursting into flames."

"I'm on it. I'll get her as soon as I can," Doyle said, and hung up, holding up a hand to hail a cab. He jumped into the back seat as soon as it rolled to a stop, "Santa Monica pier. An extra twenty if you make it in five minutes."

/

/

By some miracle, he ended up with a cabbie that could've won the Indy 500. He was at the pier in five minutes, though he didn't really know how. Doyle paid the driver and took off toward the only unused factory on the pier.

/

/

Doyle, for only the second time in his entire life, willingly switched into his demon visage and entered the building. He would need every advantage that he could get.

Faith was just climbing to her feet when Doyle walked in the door. She looked a little bruised, a little woozy, and Doyle knew Cordelia had done a number on her. He picked up a board and smashed it into the back of her skull, using every ounce of his strength. The Slayer sank to the floor for the second time in less than twenty minutes, unconscious yet again.

"'Delia, you in here?" Doyle called, and he heard an excited yelp.

"Doyle! I'm up here."

Doyle looked up and saw Cordelia on the second story of the building. She was bruised and bloody, but alive. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live. Find something to get me out of these shackles with and get your ass up here."

Doyle grinned. She still had that bossy attitude. He looked around and saw a pair of heavy wire cutters. Picking them up, he made his way up the stairs and over to Cordelia. She was watching Faith carefully. The Slayer was beginning to move, her eyes opened.

"Hurry. She's awake." Cordelia said and Doyle grabbed her wrist. He used the wire cutters to break the closest links to her wrists and pulled the chains out.

"That'll have to do for now. Let's get you out of here." He said, grabbing her around the waist and hustling her toward the stairs. She held on to him, her balance seriously off, unable to steady herself. Faith was blocking the door by the time they got to the bottom of the steps.

"You two aren't going anywhere. I am going to enjoy hurting you both very badly." Faith growled, picking up a wicked looking knife. "Did you really think that you could get away from me?"

Doyle shrugged. "It was worth a try. But I guess I'll just have to go through you."

"You're even more stupid than I thought you were. Surely you know that you can't defeat a Slayer."

"Well, normally, no, lass, I couldn't. But see, these aren't very normal circumstances. You've spent the last few hours torturing my girlfriend, and that doesn't make me happy. And you're a little injured yourself. I think I can handle you."

"Well bring it on, demon boy."

Cordelia managed not to look surprised at Doyle's face as he changed. Faith didn't manage to hide her surprise as well. She had assumed that Doyle would be unwilling to show his demon side. What she hadn't considered was how much he was in love with Cordelia. What he would resort to in order to keep her safe. And that was whatever had to be done.

Faith threw the first punch. Doyle grabbed the Slayer's fist and twisted her arm, but Faith came up and kicked Doyle in the stomach, making him stumble back a few steps. She tackled him, making a severe tactical error. Doyle locked his arms around her waist, dragging her to the ground with him. He outweighed her by forty pounds or so, easily held her down. He sat up slightly, holding her in place with his hips, a little amazed by how easily he had been able to subdue her.

Faith struggled briefly while Doyle's hands closed around her throat, pressing against her air pipe hard enough to cut off her supply of oxygen. He wasn't going to kill her, he just wanted to make her pass out. Then he would tie her up and take her to Angel. Angel could do with her what he wanted.

When Faith finally slipped into unconsciousness, Doyle let her go and stood up. Cordelia was at his side with a bundle of rope in only seconds. Together, they tied the Slayer up, and then Doyle picked her up. "We'll take the sewers back to the office and the I'll take you home. No cab driver would pick us up the way we look right now."

Cordelia nodded and opened the back door. It had begun to rain, so there were no people on the street or beach. She walked as quickly as she could to the sewer entrance and pulled it open. Doyle went down first with Faith, then reached up to help Cordelia make her way down the ladder.

/

/

Cordelia picked up a pair of scissors from her vanity and raised them to her hair. Doyle was sitting on the edge of the bathtub behind her, watching. Strands of hair fell into the sink as Cordelia cut it. When she got it all evened out, she laid the scissors down, and joined her boyfriend on the bathtub.

"One hell of a day, huh?" Doyle asked, pulling her close. She laid her head on his chest and let one hand rest on his thigh.

"You have no idea. And then Angel wants to try to rehabilitate Faith. That's gonna be fun. I don't think I'll go in for a few days."

"You don't need to deal with the stress." Doyle agreed, kissing the side of her head. "Never scare me like that again, okay?"

Cordelia laughed. She had bruises galore and two relatively deep cuts, one on her cheek and one down her ribcage, but she wasn't badly hurt. "I'll do my best." She agreed, rubbing her scratched, raw wrists absently. She turned her head to look at the clock. It was ten. "I think it's about time to head to bed." She told him, standing and pulling him up.

"Maybe I should sleep in the guest room." Doyle suggested, as she began to guide him toward her bedroom. She was shaking her head before he finished the sentence.

"No way. Y'know one thing that the last two cases have taught me?"

"What's that?"

"You have to live for the moment. Come on, Doyle, let's go to bed." She pulled him close to her small body, her lips barely brushing his. "Let's live for the moment."

/

/

So they walked into her room. And Cordelia initiated the first kiss. It was deep and a little rough, passionate. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close, and her small hands worked the buttons of his shirt. She slid it off his shoulders, ran her fingers over his chest.

She'd showered, only wore a robe and a pair of flannel pajamas. The robe came off quickly, followed by her shirt and his pants. They toppled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and clothing. The rest of their clothes came off in seconds, and he kissed her throat, her collar bone, the valley between her breasts.

He explored every inch of her body with his hands, mouth, tongue. She wasn't quite so bold, but did her share of exploring. Then, and only then, he rolled her over and stroked into her slowly. She arched beneath him, taking him in, wrapping her legs around him.

"Doyle," she started, her hips meeting his with every thrust. "I love you."


	5. Enter the Wife

Doyle didn't think that there was anything more beautiful than hearing the woman you loved say the she loved you as well. He didn't think that Cordelia had ever said those words to anyone before. It was the way she had sounded so hesitant, so unsure of what she was saying. And he was absolutely positive that she hadn't been with anyone before him.

She was sound asleep, and he couldn't blame her. She'd had what was probably the longest day anyone had ever had. She was burrowed in his arms, the blanket cast carelessly over top of them, their limbs entangled to the point that it was hard to tell where he ended and she began. And it was wonderful. Probably the happiest he'd ever been.

They still had hurdles to leap over, obstacles to overcome. He had secrets she didn't know. Like Harry. His wife. And he was certain that she was going to have to be his ex wife and soon. There was no way that he could have a relationship with the woman in his arms while still being married. That was bound to be a conversation where he lost a couple body parts. He couldn't imagine her being at all understanding about that one. She had a right to know and he'd allowed their relationship to progress to the level of intimacy without ever breathing a word to her about it.

But that could wait until morning. He wouldn't wake her up for the world. She had her arms wrapped around him, her head on his chest, her breathing was deep and even, and her sleep peaceful. She was beautiful, her hair falling around her face, lashes casting shadows on her cheeks, all those curves melded against him.

And then, the moment was ruined as Dennis opened the door and wafted in, a shoe firmly in one transparent hand. Doyle rolled just in time to miss it, landing both him and Cordelia in a pile on the floor. She woke up with a yelp, flailing desperately as she was startled into consciousness.

"Call off your ghost before he kills me, darlin'." Doyle said, scrambling out of the tangle of blankets. Cordelia sat up, the sheets falling away, leaving her completely bare.

"Dennis, stop it!" she yelled and the ghost paused. "He isn't going anywhere so you'd might as well stop trying to murder him. Now go in the other room."

Defeated, Dennis went. Cordelia swatted her hair out of her face and stood up, not one shred of modesty showing. She did pull on a nightshirt though, and headed into the kitchen. She returned almost immediately with a bottle of water.

"Sorry about that." Cordelia said, examining a bruise in the mirror. "I didn't think he hated you that much."

Doyle shrugged as she sat down beside him. "It's all right. But maybe we should think about my place the next time we have a sleep over."

Cordelia giggled. "I think you two could get along once he gets used to you. He just has to learn to give people a chance before deciding whether or not he likes them." She said, untangling the blankets and getting back into bed. She lay on one side, her arm bent so she was holding herself up on one elbow.

"I don't know. I've been around a while and he hasn't stopped throwing things yet."

"Yeah, but you've only been staying here for two nights. He just gets jealous sometimes."

"He's jealous of me?"

"I think so. Think about it, Doyle. For one you're alive and he obviously isn't and you're monopolizing on my time, which means that I don't spend any time with him. He's a little jealous."

Doyle stretched out beside her. "Well he can just get over it, because I'm not going anywhere." He said, and Cordelia leaned over to kiss him.

"Okay, we'll just deal with a homicidal ghost then."

"Guess so."

Cordelia burrowed against him, settling her head in the curve of his neck, "And by the way, you can stop worrying about telling me the things I don't know, because I already know."

"What are ye getting' at, Delia?"

"I know about Harry." She said offhandedly. "Faith told me about her. And I'll admit there was a little anger going on at first, but the I thought that, when I compare it to the fact that you kept your not human heritage a secret from me for three months and I forgave you for that, it's not that bad. But," she warned, "I'll expect you to get started on that divorce. There is no way that I am going to be sleeping with a married man."

If it was even possible, Doyle fell more in love with her right then. "I must be dreaming, because you know about Harry and aren't cutting off something vital to survival."

Cordelia laughed. "In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. But put it off any longer, and I will not be happy. Nor will I be this understanding about the whole situation. Got it?"

"Got it."

/

/

God, she was amazing. That was the thought that came to Doyle's mind as he watched Cordelia getting ready for work the next morning. She'd briefly mentioned taking a couple days off, but that notion had quickly been forgotten. Someone had to keep the business running while Angel dealt with Faith, and it wasn't going to be Wesley. She wasn't sure he had any idea what to do with a file.

"Are you ready?"

"Well, setting aside the fact that the only clothes I have here are the ones I wore yesterday, yeah."

"We can stop at your place on the way over. It isn't very far out of the way."

"Are you sure you're up to goin' into work today, Princess? You've had an extra rough couple of days."

Cordelia stopped in the middle of fastening her shirt, a navy blue button down with baby blue stripes that looked incredible. "I'm sure. Now stop asking me that." She said, buttoning the last button and slipping her feet into sandals. She slung her purse over one shoulder and grabbed her keys from the dresser. "Let's go before you can ask me again."

"And before Dennis throws that pan he's been carrying around all morning at me." Doyle added, placing a hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah, before that happens. He'll eventually get along with you. It's just a little struggle for dominance. He's been the man of the house for like fifty years."

Cordelia allowed herself to be led to the door, and didn't object when Doyle continued to guide her down the hall. Her nosy neighbor, notorious for stealing boyfriends, had been watching and Cordelia was hoping that the extended physical contact would make her a little less likely to start trouble. She, of course, didn't mention anything to Doyle as he and Darlene had already met and she had forewarned him. She still had to go about making Darlene lose interest, however. That was bound to be an enormous undertaking.

/

/

/

Angel wasn't in the office when Cordelia and Doyle arrived. Wesley, however, was. Cordelia let out a heaving sigh and headed for the coffee machine. Doyle didn't speak to the Englishman right away; he checked the messages first, made notes of whom to call back first. Finally, Wesley made the first move.

"How is Cordelia doing? From what I understand she had quite an ordeal yesterday."

"Well, getting tortured and chained to the ceiling is bound to be a little rough. And then you add in the crashing through a glass window and walking ten miles in the sewer and get that she's doing better than just about anyone else would having been through what she has."

"Good." Wesley said definitively. "I'm glad she's doing well. Now, we must get back to business. While Angel is assisting Faith, I will be helping out around here. Do we, at the moment, have any ongoing cases?"

Cordelia shook her head around a cup of coffee and winced as she heard a crash downstairs. "Nope. No cases other than the one tearing up the downstairs. Wes, did you ever get ahold of Willow?"

"I think Angel called her yesterday. Why do you ask?"

"You need to call and find out if Buffy has left yet. I think I agree with you on that. She'll probably definitely come here."

Cordelia didn't add that she already knew exactly what would happen when Buffy did arrive. She wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet for a few more hours. She knew it wouldn't last long. It never did.

And then there was the wondering if and when the day that wasn't was going to occur. And whether or not Harry was going to arrive demanding a divorce so that she could remarry. Cordelia sent up a quick prayer that the things that should have happened already didn't happen in rapid succession. She had no idea what to expect.

Cordelia paused on the way to her desk. "Wes, on second thought, never mind. I'll call her. You go see if Angel needs anything. He's probably running short on blood."

Wesley nodded reluctantly. "Sure."

Cordelia picked up the phone and dialed Willow's dorm room number. The redheaded witch picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Willow, it's Cordelia."

"Cordy? Why are you calling?"

"Has Buffy left yet?"  
"You mean for class?"

"No. For LA. We figured that she'd be coming here, with the whole Faith thing."

"Faith is there?"

"Yeah. Wesley told Giles that he thought she would come here next. We assumed that Buffy would be on her way too. Payback and all."

"I don't know. She just said that she was going to go to class. I haven't seen her in a couple hours. Is Faith there now?"

"Yeah. Angel has her downstairs. I think he's trying the rehabilitate her again. Even though we all remember where that got us the last time he tried it."

"Maybe it'll work this time. What did she do?"

"Oh the normal. Attacked and kidnapped me. Had a bit of fun with some torture devices, hung me from a ceiling. I knocked her out, called for help. She got into a fight with my half demon boyfriend and he knocked her out again and then we brought her back to Angel."

"And this happened when?"

"Yesterday."

"What did you do?"

"Went home, Dennis tried to kill Doyle, then went to bed, got up and came to work."

"Dennis? Doyle?"

"Doyle my boyfriend and Dennis my ghost."

"You have a ghost?"

"He came with the apartment. So, you'll call me and let me know if Buffy decides to come here?"

"I'll try, but Buffy doesn't tell me everything."

Cordelia remembered Willow turning evil and Glory and all the stuff that had happened in her world. Yeah, that would all have to change. "Okay, Will. Thanks."

"No problem. Oh, what kind of demon is your boyfriend?"

Willow wasn't weirded out. Cordelia decided that in itself was weird. But then again, she hadn't thought anything of Willow and Oz dating and Oz was obviously a werewolf. "A half Bracken."

"Oh neat! A Tracker demon. They can jump really far. And run really fast."

"Yeah, that they can. Tell everyone I said hi. And make sure to mention to Xander that I have a boyfriend. And that I am doing really well for myself. And that I'm happy and that I never even think about him. Which is the truth except when I'm talking to you."

"I will."

"Thanks. Oh, and Willow, while I'm thinking about it, could you look up some stuff on a place called Pylea? It's an alternate universe. Humans are cows and all that good stuff."

"Uh, sure. But why?"

"I'll let you know if you find anything. Bye."

Doyle had been leaning against the door frame. "Pylea? That's a very odd dimension, darlin'. I don't think we'll be wantin' to take a vacation there anytime soon."

"I know. When I was out, in the coma, I had dreams about a place where humans were slaves, and all sorts of bad things happened, and Angel turned into a demon, and something about a prince and visions and royalty. I got the distinct impression I was supposed to help one particular cow."

But Doyle hadn't heard her. His gaze was focused on the door behind her. Cordelia turned around and saw Harriet Doyle. And directly behind her was one Buffy Summers. Cordelia swore.

"Dammit, here we go."

Harriet spoke first. "What the hell do you think you mean, Francis, calling my machine and asking for a divorce?"


	6. Drama, Drama, Drama

Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of Second Chance. I know it was a long time coming, and I was seriously beginning to think that my muse had taken a permanent vacation. But she's back now and the words are flowing. I'm still considering a sequel to Across Time. Maybe about Ashling, maybe about Cordy and Doyle. I haven't gotten that far. Let me know what you think.

Cordelia felt a headache, right behind her eyes. Doyle was getting the same thing. Harry was angrily watching her husband and Buffy was looking for Angel. Wesley was nowhere to be seen, and downstairs was strangely quiet.

Cordelia finally made the first move. "Hi, Harry, Buffy. Angel's downstairs with Faith, wouldn't recommend going down there at the moment, and Harry, Doyle wants a divorce because he has a new girlfriend."

Harry was baffled, Buffy was angry and Doyle was, uncharacteristically, beaming. Cordelia was rather proud of herself too. She hadn't ever liked Harry much, and putting her in her place was oddly satisfying. She heaved out a sigh when it became obvious no one was going to do any talking and continued her monologue.

"Now, why don't I make some coffee, Doyle, you go tell Wesley we have guests, and Buffy, you stay away from those stairs."

Buffy snorted a laugh. "Or what?"

"You don't want to find out." Cordelia called in a sing song voice over her shoulder. "I have had the worst two days of my life. You don't want to mess with me. Not, mind you, that I'm happy with Faith right now. But seeing as she tried to kill me and my boyfriend just yesterday, I think I have more of a right to want to beat her to a bloody pulp than you do."

Buffy had noticed the stiffness of Cordelia's gate and the bruises on her face. "What are they doing right now?"

"Oh, Faith's having some sort of an epiphany, realizing she's done bad, and that she needs to turn herself in."

Buffy sneered. "In your dreams, Queen C."

Cordelia plunked coffee cups down in front of everyone. "You do not want to mess with me, Slay Girl. I've done my share of ass kicking in the last few weeks. And seeing as I just helped stop the Scourge," Cordelia paused to relish in the unwilling look of surprise and impressment that quickly crossed Buffy's face, "And was in a coma for a whole three weeks, which I just woke up from two days ago, and then got kidnapped the very next day, I am in a mood that is just right for kicking your ass as well."

Buffy wisely chose to remain silent. Harry didn't. Cordelia thought that the woman was much unfriendlier than she had remembered. "Now look, whoever you are, you have to right to move in on my husband."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and took a drink of coffee. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I don't have any right to move in on your husband. But you have to remember that you've been separated for quite a while now, and he's asking you for a divorce. Does it sound like I'm a home wrecker?"

Buffy snorted into her coffee. Cordelia shot her patented icy glare toward the blonde. Harry was looking even more agitated. Buffy spoke. "Okay, fun as this revelation is, and as fitting as the role of home wrecker is for Cordelia, I'm gonna have to pass on this soap opera. I need to see Angel and kill both him and Faith." She said, getting to her feet. Cordelia shook her head.

"I already told you that you aren't going to go down there. Look, Buffy, if anyone has a chance at getting through to Faith without violence, it's Angel. He's been where she's at and he knows what to say to get to her. Just let them be for a while. There haven't been any crashes for a while, so I think they must be getting somewhere. And if they are and she sees you, she'll probably take off again."

Buffy continued to the stairs. "That's what you don't get, Cordelia, I don't want to end this without violence. I want to kill her. I want to kill him for helping her when all she's done for him is hurt him. And as you've been there too, I don't see how you could sit here and act as if a murderer isn't downstairs."

"She wasn't the only one there that night."

It was a low blow. Cordelia knew it as she said it, and couldn't stop the words that were coming out of her mouth. She saw the surprise and shock register on Buffy's face, and instantly regretted saying it, though she'd be damned before she'd admit it.

Doyle and Wesley had come to the top of the stairs in time to watch the two women face off. Wesley cringed as Cordelia hit a particular nerve he wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole. Buffy turned a disturbing shade of pink and took two steps toward the brunette.

"Yeah, Cordelia. I was there that night. I knew what she had done, I saw her do it, and I covered for her. I'll regret that all of my life. But you've been there a few times and not tried to do anything too. I remember you standing aside when vampires attacked the school. The first time you ever staked something was at graduation, three years after you found out."

Cordelia shrugged. "That's right. And y'know what? I wouldn't change a thing. I don't have regrets, Buffy. I only wish I would've one more to make the lives of the Scoobies hell."

"You're gonna wanna move now."

"Am I? I don't think so. I think I'm gonna wanna stay right here and that if you think you're going down those stairs, you're gonna have to go through me. He can help her. You just have to give them the chance. He won't give up on her like you did."

Buffy shoved Cordelia and sent her into Doyle. She shoved past Wesley and stormed down the stairs. Doyle righted Cordelia as Wesley went after the Slayer. "Nice job, Princess."

Cordelia shrugged him off. "Don't patronize me. I insulted her and made things worse than they were when she came in." she said ,walking to Doyle's ex wife. "Now it's your turn since I don't think I'm up to my disaster quota for the day. If it were you, you'd be the one demanding a divorce. You've both had lives without one another for a good long time now, and just who the hell do you think you are to deny both of you happiness because you can't admit failure? Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go up to the roof and break a few things and scream until I lose my voice."

Doyle watched her in amazement as she breezed up the stairs to the roof. "Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be here this soon and I wanted to be able to talk to you alone."

"No, no. I like seeing my replacement. How old is she, Francis? Sixteen?"

"Nineteen."

Harry barked a bitter laugh. "That's a little young for you, don't you think?"

"Six years. Not that big a difference."

"She's barely out of high school! I can't believe this. You're working for a vampire, with a Watcher and there are two Slayers in here and you walk out on me because I'm more ready to embrace your demon half than you are. Seems like you've embraced it pretty well by now."

"No, Harry. I left because I didn't want to risk hurting you. I didn't know what I was. I was confused, overwhelmed, scared. And yeah, you were just a little too curious. I wasn't comfortable with my other half and I damn sure didn't want to let you look at that face when we were together."

"It didn't matter to me! It doesn't matter to me! I loved you for who you were. I don't care about where you came from. I wanted to understand."

"I didn't understand, Harry. I didn't know what was going on. What would happen, what I would become. And Cordelia, she's just as uncomfortable with that part of me as I am. She grew up on a hell mouth. Vampires and demons were a fact of life. And it took her a long time to get used to Angel. For her, demons were always absolutely evil. We're figuring out what's what. Accepting it together."

"So she's better for you because she hates your other side?"

Doyle grinned swiftly. "I know it sounds like that, but no. And she doesn't hate it. She's just as confused and scared and overwhelmed by it as I am. It's easier to come to terms with something when there's someone there to do it with you."

"I was there."

"No, Harry, you were way ahead."

Faith was gone, Buffy and Angel were fighting, Wesley had escaped under the pretense of looking for the rogue Slayer, and Harry and Doyle were fighting. Cordelia had foregone the smashing and screaming for pacing and crying. She'd had the worst two days ever. Waking up, having to adjust to a whole new life. Faith, Harry, Buffy, even Dennis. Nothing that was happening was supposed to be happening. Most was supposed to have already happened.

But it had all been worth it. She was in love. God, that was weird. Cordelia Chase, reigning bitch of Sunnydale High School was head over heels for a partial alcoholic, Irish half demon. Fate could sure launch some curve balls. She hadn't expected to fall quite so hard so fast. She hadn't known what her feelings would be had she given Doyle a chance and she was finding out they were deeper and stronger than she had ever imagined.

And she hurt, deep inside. She knew that Doyle still had feelings left for Harry. Knew that she had a part of him that he couldn't ever have back. That Cordelia couldn't ever get to. She'd shared his life. And Cordelia knew that there was a chance that Doyle would go back with her. That he would decide he belonged with his wife. And that she had just been a one night thing. A stepping stone to finding out what it was he really wanted.

And Cordelia knew that would hurt more than anything. But despite all that, she wouldn't regret that she had chosen to live over again. If anything, Doyle leaving her for Harry would close that chapter in her life and she would be able to move on and have a chance at happiness with someone else. And even that was better than what she had had.

Doyle approached the roof carefully, ears tuned for the sounds of things breaking. The last thing he needed was to be bashed in the head with something heavy. But Cordelia was sitting on the ledge, staring out at the city as the sun sank. She'd already heard him approach.

"So, what's going on?"

Doyle was surprised she'd heard him. "Harry went home, and Angel called to say that he and Buffy are out looking for Faith, but there's been no luck as yet."

Cordelia turned around and Doyle saw that her eyes were wet. "I'm sorry. For what I said to Harry and Buffy. It was none of my business and I had no right to say any of it. I know you still have feelings for her, and if you're leaving, I can totally accept that."

"Feelings? For Harry?"

"Yeah, you know the warm, fuzzy kind. The kind that make you marry someone."

"I don't have any feelings for Harry. She agreed to sign the papers. As of tomorrow, I'm a free man."

Cordelia's eyes widened. "You aren't going back to her?"

"No. Why would I?"

Cordelia leapt off the ledge and into his arms. Doyle was caught off guard and collapsed into the nearest chair that he could find. She fused her mouth to his, kissing him wildly as he held her. When she jerked away, they were both out of breath.

"I thought you were going to go back to her. I was so scared, Doyle. I thought I was going to lose you again."

"Again?"

"We almost lost you when you faced off the Scourge. Take me home, Doyle. Be with me tonight. I need you. I love you."

"I love you, too Princess."


	7. And Baby Makes Three

There is an end in sight. These next few chapters'll be skipping around a bit in the timeline. Take into consideration that not everything is going to be the same and that Connor never existed in my world. Things are as they should be. Okay, here we go. Chapter 7. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. And I'd also like to start getting ideas on a next story. Things you'd like to see happen, plots you think should be explored. I'm open for all of it.

And just to clarify a bit of mild criticism I received, things are different. Characters made different choices. Not everything is the same. I know Harry may have seemed a little bit out of character, but in my mind, she was different. Same for Doyle. He wasn't exactly the same, but he was a lot closer than Harry. Thanks for the reviews!

December 24th, 2002, Diary of Cordelia Chase.

Well, it's been three years since I came back. Three years and a little over a month since I woke up in that hospital bed and saw Angel and Doyle sitting across from me. Three years since Faith came back and Angel helped her be rehabilitated. Since he and Buffy fought the Morah demon. Since he became human. Since Doyle and I became a couple.

We've had our rough spots. What couple doesn't? We even broke up once. Stayed split for a whole three months. We were both miserable. And so was everyone else. Finally we made up and gave us a second shot. That was nearly two years ago. Buffy and Angel's daughter is two today. Reina is so beautiful. She's got her mom's hair and her dad's eyes. At least God had the good sense to give her Buffy's face. Angel's is nice, but not for a girl.

She's the light of their life. And if I'm really honest, Doyle and I spoil her as much as they do. But who could blame us? She's adorable and we are, after all, her godparents. Wes and Faith's son is pretty cute, too. He's only a couple months old. Avery Michael Wyndham-Pryce. Angel and Buffy get to be his godparents, thank God. Faith and Wes and Doyle and I haven't ever been very close.

And there's no Fred and Gunn. That really hurts if I let myself think about it. I checked up on them. Fred never disappeared into Pylea and she's living a great life in New York City, married with two kids. She's happy. Gunn's still fighting vampires, though not for us. He's got his gang, and as yet, we haven't had cause to interfere with anything they do. I miss them.

But I'm happy too. I wasn't this happy in the other dimension. About this time I would've been turning into a half demon. Definite low point. Then there would be the Ascension and the battle and the coma. And then death. But, let's not go there. Things are so much better. So much happier.

Angel's still got all his strength, thanks to a spell a la Willow, and we still fight evil. But so far, nothing Apocalypse esque. Thank God. And slowly but surely, Doyle is becoming comfortable with his demon half. And so am I. We're doing it together, step by step.

I don't mind anymore. That's just part of who he is, and I love that part as much as the human part. He still doesn't like to show his face, but sometimes he does. And I know we're getting close to being at ease with it. There are certain instances in which he can't control it. Like when he sneezes, or gets really, really mad.

I think his other half is why we aren't married. Or why we don't have kids. He wants to be sure he's come to grips with who he is before he passes it onto any children we might have. And I think part of that has to do with me, too. I've done a lot of growing mentally and matured a lot, but the thought of putting thirty pounds on willingly still makes me shudder.

And I've been doing a lot of shuddering lately. See, a couple months ago I had the flu. Some demon induced one, but the flu nonetheless. And I was too sick to take my BC. And voila. One bun in the oven. Doyle doesn't know yet. I'm half scared to tell him. Not that I doubt he'd be happy, he's just too Irish to take to having kids before there's a legal document stating we're man and wife.

Oh well. He'll get over it. I hope. Anyway, it's Christmas Eve, we're together, life is good and I'm late for tree decorating at the office. And Doyle is anxiously waiting for me to finish getting ready. Not that anything fits anymore. And not that he's even noticed that I've gained five pounds already.

Cordelia pulled on the black slip dress and heels, tucking her hair behind her ear as she did so. It was cold out, so she picked up her black leather jacket to go with the dress. It was one of the few things in her closet that still fit. She slung her purse over one shoulder, checked her make up in the mirror and walked out of the bedroom. Doyle was sitting on the couch, in black slacks and a maroon shirt that looked good. His wardrobe had make a complete turn around in the years he'd been with her.

"Ready? We're going to be late."

"We're already late, darlin'. I've been waitin' for you."

"Details, details. How do I look?"

Doyle inspected her slim form with a critical eye. "Do you ever look anything but lovely?"

"Good answer. Let's go. I like that shirt."

"You should. You bought it."

"I thought it looked familiar." Cordelia said, smiling as she took his hand and pulled him from the couch. She flipped out the lights and dragged her boyfriend to the door. "Did you get the presents?"

"You mean the twenty seven wrapped boxes?"

"There were thirty." Cordelia frowned, looking around the apartment wildly. She spotted the three missing boxes in the corner of the kitchen counter and frowned again as she retrieved them. "How did these get here?"

Doyle kissed her quickly. "My bet's on the ghost. How many of those are for people over the age of two?"

"Five. Wes got a couple books I found at a shop downtown. They looked demony. Faith and Buffy got clothes. Angel gets a cook book. That one he's been whining about getting for a couple of weeks."

"That's only four."

"If you think I'm telling you what I got you, you are sadly mistaken." Cordelia said, pushing the button for the elevator.

"I'll tell you if you'll tell me."

"We go through this every holiday, birthday and anniversary. No, no and a million times no."

The tree was up, but still bare when Doyle and Cordelia arrived. Faith was giving the baby a bottle in the lobby and Reina was sitting beside her, watching intently. As soon as she saw Aunt Cordy and Uncle Doyle, however, the two year old torpedo was on a crash course.

Buffy came out of the office just in time to intercept. She scooped the toddler up before she could send boxes sprawling. "Hey, you're late."

"As per usual. Where should we set these?"

"My God you spoil the kids."

Doyle shrugged. "We don't have any of our own, so we have to spoil yours. It's like a required thing."

Cordelia's face didn't move. That was one thing acting had taught her was how to not express emotion. She smiled. "And they're just so cute. And don't even tell me you don't spoil Avery."

"Point, set and match." Angel said, coming into the room, a wide grin on his tanned face. He took the pile of packages from Cordelia and sat them on the table that held many other boxes in a wide array of colors.

"As always." Cordelia said, watching Wesley walk in with an apron around his waist. She sniffed the air and smelled spaghetti sauce. "Oh Wes, I am in love with you." She told him, breezing across the room toward the Watcher.

"You say that every time I cook."

"Yup. And then you deliver your line."

"I'm flattered Cordelia, but I'm madly in love with my wife."

"Too bad. You have much better fashion sense than Doyle. We'd always coordinate."

Doyle laughed at the old routine and snagged Cordelia by the waist. In her heels she was almost eye to eye with him and he barely had to shift downward to kiss her. "Which is why, my darling girl, I let you pick my clothes."

"And I do a damn good job."

"That you do." Buffy agreed, sitting down with her toddler in her lap. "Angel, go downstairs with the guys and get the decorations. We'll get the table set up so we can eat."

Faith deposited Avery in Cordelia's arms. "Here, you hold him for a while. He's been fussy today and I need a break."

Cordelia jiggled the baby inexpertly and cradled him against her body. She wasn't fluent, but she was decent at taking care of small infants. She'd babysat Reina many times and was beginning to sit for Avery. And she'd be getting a lot more practice in a few months.

Cordelia was helping Buffy set the table when Spike sauntered in. Since he'd gotten the chip installed by the Initiative, he'd been a big help around Angel Investigation. The past few months, however, he'd been dealing with Darla and Drusilla in Sunnydale and hadn't been in the office.

He walked into the kitchen just as the three men came up from the basement. Cordelia froze in the middle of laying plates down. Spike tipped his head to the side, and then scanned the room. His gaze settled on Cordelia, and she could practically see the vampire hearing start to work. He smiled.

"Congratulations on the little one, Queen C. Demon boy know yet?"

Cordelia squeezed her eyes shut. She'd never wanted Doyle to find out that way. She'd had the way she was going to tell him all planned out and timed. Slowly, she shook her head negatively. Doyle lifted his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"Know what?"

Cordelia plunked the plate down and grabbed her boyfriend by the arm, pulled him into the other room. She pushed him down into a chair and stood in front of him. "Spike wasn't supposed to be back for two weeks, and I'd've told you way before then. And don't think I was trying to hide anything, cause I wasn't, I just hadn't quite worked up the nerve to tell you, and I was actually planning on doing it tonight, you can look in my journal if you don't believe me, and-"

"Whoa, Delia, slow down. I'm not bein' able to make much sense of any of this. Why don't you tell me what's going on and what Spike knows that you were going to tell me that's making you ramble?"

Cordelia took a heaving breath. "Remember when I went to the doctor for my yearly checkup and I said everything was fine?"

"Yeah."

"I lied. Everything's not fine. We're not ready for this and it wasn't supposed to happen. But it did, and I'm about to get to the point."

"I'd appreciate that seein' as you're startin' to scare me."

"We're pregnant."

"Pregnant? As in, a baby?"

"Yeah, as in a baby. I'm two months along. Remember when I got that demon flu and I was too sick to take the pills? Well, I guess they didn't get in my system good before we had sex, and you got me pregnant."

Then Cordelia shrieked in surprise because Doyle had leapt up and grabbed her in his arms, twirling her in a circle. He sat her down gently and took her face in his hands, leaning down to kiss her softly. "You've known for two weeks and haven't told me. Did you think I'd be mad?"

"No, I thought you were too Catholic to be happy. I mean, we aren't planning on getting married, and we never even talked about kids. We're both still really young. And I was scared. If we ever discuss marriage, I wanted it to be because we both wanted it, not because I happened to be pregnant."

"Well then, we both picked a good night. Take a guess at your present."

"You guess first."

"Tell me."

"The pregnancy test I took because I had hoped the doctors were wrong. So I have proof I was going to tell you. It's at home under our tree."

"I'm going to propose to you tonight." Doyle said, pulling a small brightly wrapped box from his pocket. "I had everything worked out, what I was gonna say, when I was gonna say it. But none of that applies now. So I'll do this instead." Doyle knealt, opened the lid. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want to raise our baby together. Will ye marry me, Princess?"  
As Cordelia nodded tearfully, the assembled group burst into applause.

Sorry everyone, a little bit of fluff. Don't worry though, things'll get more interesting. Actually, fluff'll probably be a prominent part of the next few chapters. I think I'm going to touch on important parts of their lives. The wedding, the birth, and maybe a couple chapters between. Some twist will pop up though, that I promise. I've got an idea floating around. Okay, start sending in baby names. I'll post my top choices in a couple chapters.


	8. The Hound

Something was chasing her. But it wasn't just after her. She wasn't even the main target. The creature was after her baby. The tiny life growing inside her that hadn't done anything to anyone. The creature came fast and hard and unrelenting. Always pursuing, always coming. It would never stop. Not until both mother and child were dead. Nothing could stop it. Except the birth.

And in her bedroom, held securely in the arms of her fiancé, Cordelia Chase woke screaming, a cold sweat soaking her nightgown, her heart pounding as if she'd just run a marathon. Doyle sat up, gathering Cordelia close, soothing words already pouring from his lips.

"Shh, darlin' it was just a dream. Nothin's wrong. It's okay."

Cordelia was shaking, trembling as if scared to death. "No, it's not. It's not okay. It's after our baby!"

"Nothing's after the baby, Delia. It was just a dream."

"I felt it Doyle. Something is after our baby." She looked at the clock. 5:15. "It isn't too early. Get dressed, we're going to work. I'll call Wesley."

Who was already up and answered the call on the first ring. "Wyndham- Pryce residence."

"Wes, it's Cordy. I had a dream."

"A dream? A nightmare?"

"More like a prophetic dream. It felt real. It was about the baby. Something trying to kill it."

"Prophetic, you say? How so?"

"I was there. It was real. I know Slayers are the only ones supposed to be able to have prophetic dreams, but…"

"Oh, quite on the contrary. People with even a slight sixth sense have prophetic dreams all the time. They just don't realize it. And as you were a Seer for a very short period of time, there's a chance that your channels to things unknown may be a little wider open than that of a normal person. Doyle gets dreams, doesn't he? Sleeping visions?"

"Yeah. But you were supposed to assure me nothing was wrong and make me feel stupid. Now I'm just scared."

"We'll be at the office in approximately an hour. Write down whatever you can remember and we'll go over it and begin research when we arrive. Perhaps you should mention something to Angel. He may know more about it than I. He has, after all had prophetic dreams in the past, and may be able to pin point just what kind of creature is after you."

Cordelia hung up and rushed toward the bathroom to shower. She ignored the fact that Doyle was already in there and hopped in. He looked at her strangely and handed her the shampoo. "For some reason, I don't think you're here for a little early morning quickie. What did Wes say?"

"He thinks I'm right. He's gonna come in early and head up the research party."

Doyle just stared at her for a moment. "He thinks there's something after our baby? But why? Neither of us have a big role in anything supernatural. We aren't Slayers or Angel or Watchers. We're practically normal."

"You're a Seer, Doyle. That's pretty spectacular. And I'm confused too. I mean, Avery and Reina are both the children of Slayers."

"We're just going to have to wait and see what Wes comes up with." Doyle said, moving so she could rinse her hair. She did so with several quick, efficient movements and poured conditioner out in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Doyle. I want this to just be a dream. I really do, but it just felt so real. And I've learned to trust my gut."

"It's okay. We'll just hope there's nothing to it. And deal if there is."

Wesley was waiting in the lobby of the Hyperion when Doyle and Cordelia rushed in. She had thrown on Jeans and a bulky sweater that hid her burgeoning belly, and Doyle had pulled on something similar, though careless didn't work on his the way it did on her.

"I've looked, I've conferred with Giles, Angel, and several other contacts, and we've only come up with one instance in which something similar happened. But it is next to impossible that this is the same thing."

"What was it?" Doyle asked, fixing Cordelia tea and easing her down onto a couch.

"A possible Slayer, who was certainly needed in other capacities, who was killed in a battle long before her time had come. She was offered a second chance by the PTB to travel to another dimension, live her life over again. When she became pregnant, the forces of evil, in order to make sure that the balance of power stayed even, sent a creature known as the Hound to kill both mother and child. The only way to defeat it was for the child to be born. She was said to begin receiving dreams before the attacks commenced. In order to be able to prepare herself."

Cordelia turned deathly pale, looked like she did right before a bout of morning sickness hit her. She stood, grabbed her coat. "I need to see the Oracles."

Doyle grabbed her hand. "What's going on, love? Why has this got you so freaked?"

Cordelia laid her hand on Doyle's cheek. "I can't tell you. Not yet. Not until I know for sure what's going on. If anyone knows, it's them."

Wesley intervened before she made it out the door. "What makes you think they'll tell you?"

"They wouldn't dare not tell me." Cordelia said, swinging her purse over her shoulder. She was out the door and into a cab before anyone could get any further than the door. Wesley rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think it safe to say there's something going on she doesn't want us to know."

Doyle heaved a sigh. "Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. What was your first clue?"

8

Cordelia dumped some of the sand Angel had left in the chamber into the ceremonial bowl. She took a pack of matches out of her purse and struck one. "I beseech access to the knowing ones."

The portal opened in the wall and Cordelia stepped through. The Oracles were waiting. The female spoke first. "Our gift, mortal, and then we will tell you what you wish to know."

Cordelia threw them her necklace, the one her father had given her for her eighteenth birthday. "What the hell is going on?"

"The Hound? You've begun seeing dreams of him?"

"Yes. The Powers didn't tell me this could happen. They made it sound like anything I wanted was possible. That nothing bad would happen because I went back."

"This is not because you transferred dimensions, but because you're with child. You were a possible Slayer, Cordelia, and are, therefore, very important to a lot of destinies. Your child, if a girl, would also be a possible, if it is a boy, it will inherit it's father's attributes. The Sight, and a few other abilities. The child is much more powerful than either of the parents. Evil wishes it killed."

"What do I do?"

"It would seem that you would need to tell your friends about where it is you come from."

Cordelia felt her stomach drop, laid her arms across her abdomen. "They'll be angry."

"Possibly. But without telling them, you and the child will surely be dead. I'll tell you something. Search for the one who is not supposed to be. The one who was supposed to die at the hand of an angel in a time of possession."

With their advice having been dispensed, Cordelia disappeared from the chamber. The female turned to her mate. "Perhaps we should do something."

"No. what has to be done is left to them. There is nothing more for us to do."

"We could alter time. Make it so she doesn't come back. Send him there. To take her place."

"And leave this dimension in ruin? I think not. No, what was done had to be done and what will be done is in the hands of the mortals. There is nothing for us to do about it."

"If she tries to remember what was blocked, she will."

"Of course. She is strong for a mortal. Stronger than she gives herself credit for. Not many could live that life. Let her handle it. We can also turn time back."

Cordelia took her time going back to the office. She didn't want to see anyone yet. Her whole life was falling down around her. She would have to tell them that she wasn't their Cordelia, that she'd only truly been there for three years, was living life over again. And she had a desperate feeling that they would be very angry. And Doyle. He loved her. Or thought he did anyway. He loved the Cordelia from his dimension, not her.

But she'd been there for years. He hadn't known her but a few weeks when she'd walked into her old body and started things over. Surely he would understand. He couldn't not understand. He had to. She needed him. Their child needed him. But she didn't want him to stay with her only because of the baby. She wanted him with her because he wanted her.

She was in tears by the time she got back to the office. Doyle and Angel were in his office going over a case file, and Wesley was no where to be seen. Buffy, and Faith and the kids had gone to the park. She didn't want them to see her, headed straight for her own office. There was nothing she could do or say to make what she had done okay. Her only hope was that they would understand.

She sat down at her desk, and waited for them to come to her. During the wait, she fixed her face, erasing all signs that she'd been crying. She knew she'd start again, and didn't want to look any worse than necessary. And sure enough, she hadn't had two minutes to herself when Doyle and Angel walked in, closed the door, and sat down.

"Want to tell us what's going on?" Angel asked, leaning his elbows on the desk top. Cordelia shook her head.

"No. But I don't have another choice. Do you remember the coma I was in a few years ago? After the Scourge?"

Doyle nodded. "Worst couple weeks of our lives. But what does that have to do with that dream you had?"

"Let me tell you a story." Cordelia sighed, sat back. It would be easier to do it from the third person perspective. "Seven years ago, there was a girl. She was a cheerleader, knew nothing of the dark side, of what lurked in the night. And then she met a Slayer, a vampire with a soul, and a Watcher. She didn't want to help, but couldn't turn her back on what was happening around her. So, she joined the group, did what she could to help. And three years later, she graduated from high school. That same night, her high school burned down, many of her friends died, and the Slayer's lover left for LA.

"She eventually landed in LA as well. There she was trying to become an actress, even though she was terrible at acting. She was targeted by a vampire, and rescued by the vampire with a soul and his half demon side kick. She went to work with them, and everything was all right for a while. But then the Scourge came, and the half demon was killed, leaving the girl with the visions.

"She used them as best she could, but they were killing her brain. Humans aren't designed for the stress it takes to carry the Sight. She lapsed into a coma, was given a choice. To become a half demon, or to go back so that she was never targeted by the vampire. She went back, but her destiny was to help, and she ended back in the same place she had been. So she became a half demon.

"Then, the souled vampire had a fit of depression, went a little wacky. He slept with another vampire, his sire, and she became pregnant, with a human child. She had to kill herself to bring the child into the world, and the vampire and the girl, along with a couple others who had joined their group, were left to raise the baby. But then an evil man the vampire had hurt long before he received his soul kidnapped the child, and took him into a demon dimension. Eventually, the boy came back, as a fully grown man.

"The girl thought herself in love with the son and became his lover. He got her pregnant, with something not a human. When the baby was born, it put her into a coma. Everyone was enchanted with her child, obeyed everything she said. Until one girl got her blood on her. Then she could see the truth. The baby was evil. So, the group destroyed her, and the woman was taken to a hospital to be cared for. Moments before her death, she was allowed to say goodbye to the vampire. And then she died.

"But that wasn't the end of it. The Powers offered her another chance. See, her life had been cut off prematurely, and she had more years to live. So they offered to place her in another, similar dimension, where she had been the one to take the Scourge down, not the half demon. She agreed. And woke up from a coma in a hospital to a souled vampire and his half demon Messenger." Cordelia leaned forward. "She's me."

Doyle was shocked into speechlessness. Angel wasn't. "So, let me get this straight. You're from another dimension, and you aren't our Cordelia."

"I've been here for three years, Angel. And your Cordelia was dead." Cordelia rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but the Powers told me not to."

Angel took a minute to take a few deep breaths. "Okay, so you've been here for three years. Which means that you got here nine weeks after we met up here in LA."

"Right. Doyle-"

Doyle didn't give her a chance to say anything. He spoke instead. "'Delia, darlin', we've all done things we should've told one another about years ago. I'm not mad at you, Princess. Yeah, you should have told me, but there were things I should have told you about long before I did. So, let's just move past it and figure out what to do about this thing."

Cordelia allowed herself a small smile. "I love you, Allan Francis Doyle."

Next Chapter up when I get it written!


	9. The Final Curtain

Okay kids. It has been forever and I am ready to start rolling on this story again. So I'll just get started on it.

Second Chance Chapter 9.

Cordelia sat with her head in her hands. 'Search for the one who is not supposed to be. The one who was supposed to die at the hand of an angel in a time of possession.'

What did that mean? Who was it? She couldn't figure it out. Wouldn't be able to until all of her memories returned. Was anyone there who wasn't supposed to be? Who could help them? She laid her hands on her stomach, cast up a quick prayer to whoever it was that was listening to them. All she wanted was for her child to be okay. Her baby had to be all right. She wouldn't survive if it wasn't.

Perhaps the Oracles had lied. She combed through her hair, let it run through her fingers. And as suddenly as if she had always known, the answer came to her. If time could be reversed, then it could be sped up. And she knew just the person to do it. The one who was supposed to die at the hand of an angel in a time of possession.

Cordelia rushed into Doyle's office, saw Wesley sitting there also. "Wes, I need you to find out if there's a Jenny Calender anywhere. We need her. I know how to stop this thing."

Wesley got out of his chair and took down a phone book. "Yes, there is. She's living in Sunnydale. Why?"

"Something the Oracles told me. Search for the one who is not supposed to be. The one who was supposed to die at the hand of an Angel in a time of possession. That's Jenny. She's a teacher, and a witch. A member of the Kalderash clan of Gypsies. The ones who cursed Angel with his soul. In my dimension, Angel killed her when he was Angelus."

"That's all well and good, darlin', but how is she going to protect our baby?" Doyle asked, drawing Cordelia into his lap. Cordelia was anxious to explain.

"She's a Gypsy. That means she's better than a witch cause she was born with the power. And she can cast spells. Time spells. One that can send me forward to when our baby's supposed to be born. If I'm thinking right, the Hound will try to follow me. Once he's there, it becomes the present, right?"

Wes nodded slowly. "Technically, yes. Wherever we are at any particular time is our present. I think I'm beginning to understand you, Cordelia. You want to speed along your pregnancy so that the baby is born now. That way the Hound doesn't have time to prepare for killing you both."

"Right. I want Jenny to make me nine months pregnant instead of five. I want to be in labor now instead of then." She grimaced. "Imagine this, me willingly putting myself into pain prematurely. But I can't think of any other way out."

Angel, who had been listening at the door, spoke up. "I think it's a good idea, guys. And we have to try something. Let's contact this Jenny and see if she'll help us."

Doyle looked at Cordelia. "We aren't ready for a baby yet." He said, and Cordelia heard a note of fear in his voice. "The nursery isn't finished, we don't have a name picked out, not enough stuff."

Cordelia fell in love with him all over again. He was absolutely terrified. "We'll be fine, Doyle. There isn't a better way to do this, and I'm willing to do anything to keep our baby safe. Everything else we can worry about later."

"Are you sure there isn't a better way to do this?"

"We're sure." Angel said, rolling his eyes. "And let's please get this done before the girls and the kids get back. I don't want our children here for this."

Three hours later, Cordelia was in bed, in labor. Jenny had been more than willing to drive to LA to perform the ritual. She, with her Gypsy powers, was able to verify that what they were telling her was the truth, and knew instinctively that what they proposed was the best way out. She'd gotten there in under two hours, and was delivering the baby herself.

"You all right, Cordelia?" Jenny asked, looking up at the young woman, who was so obviously in pain.

"They don't call this labor for nothing. Any sign of the Hound?"

Wesley poked his head in the door. "Our protection spell seems to be holding him off for the moment. How long should this be?"

Jenny cast him a quick look. "As long as it takes. She's moving rather quickly though. I was able to speed her labor as well as her pregnancy. Not long. The baby's beginning to crown."

Doyle turned as white as a sheet. He was dealing worse with the labor than Cordelia was. Cordelia just groaned in relief. "Thank God it's almost over. How do women do this for thirty hours at a time?"

"Pain medicine, which you've had none of." Jenny said cheerfully. "Push, Cordelia."

Cordelia pushed, bearing down on her internal muscles and on Doyle's hand. Tow more pushes and the baby was out, and crying. Cordelia collapsed against her pillows, triumphant, and glowing. "What is it?"

Doyle anxiously bounced on the balls of his feet. "Is it okay?"

"Congratulations, Mom and Dad, you have a beautiful baby boy. And the Hound is now defeated."

Cordelia reached out her arms, and her squalling baby was placed into them. She only got a second of rest however, before a violent contraction tore through her. She yelped, and handed Doyle their son. "What's going on? Why am I still having contractions?"

Jenny looked up. "He isn't alone in there. Push, Cordelia. We've got twins."

By the time the sun went down, Doyle and Cordelia had a son and a daughter. Cordelia had slept for a couple hours after giving birth, but was awake, entertaining everyone in the hotel, and holding her son. Doyle sat in a chair next to the bed with their daughter.

"Well," Angel said, pacing anxiously, "the most pressing matter we have at the moment is what you're going to name them."

Cordelia sat up, enjoying the role of center of attention. "We have decided to name him Hunter Wyatt, and she is going to be named Devon Elizabeth."

Doyle reached for Cordelia's hand. "And for everyone interested, we're getting married as soon as humanly possible."

"And we'd like Buffy and Angel to be the Godparents."

Buffy held Reina back from insisting on seeing the new babies. "We'd be honored, Cordy."

Cordelia looked at Doyle, her eyes wet and glistening. "I love you." She said softly, "And I am so glad that I came back." She looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I need to thank the Powers for my second chance. It was all worth it."

THE END!


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